A scorching summer for the states

Summer 2010 was the United States’ fourth-hottest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s State of the Climate report.

From June through August, 29 of the 48 states included in the report experienced significantly higher-than-normal temperatures, and only seven of the lower states had normal temperatures. The warmth was mostly experienced in the eastern portion of the U.S., and the southeast had its warmest summer on record.

The NOAA has been analyzing temperatures, precipitation and storm patterns since 1895 and compares each year’s data with the historic long-term average (1901-2000).